Jiang Er Returns the Fish

Another day dawned.

That morning, after Master Yuan had gathered everyone to teach them and pass on martial arts,

Master Yuan didn't hurry to leave. Instead, he spoke in front of everyone.

"One month from now, the seven martial arts schools in Jiaqing County will hold their grand competition."

"At that time, the school will hold a martial contest. I'll select five of you to compete. Each participant will receive a Dragon Tiger Pill," Master Yuan announced.

The inner-courtyard disciples' eyes lit up, and they sucked in sharp breaths.

The Dragon Tiger Pill was one of the most potent pills for those in the Post-Heaven Realm.

Swallow just one, and there was a ninety percent chance of advancing directly by one minor stage. A person could only take one in their lifetime, but even so, Dragon Tiger Pills were highly sought after on the black market.

A single pill could fetch as much as three hundred taels of silver.

After speaking, Master Yuan offered the group a few words of encouragement, then turned to Xiao Dong. "Xiao Dong, come with me."

"Yes, Master..." Xiao Dong rose from the crowd and respectfully followed Master Yuan.

No one was surprised to see this.

"Master Yuan's giving Senior Brother Xiao special lessons again..." someone remarked sourly.

"Come on, what can you do? If you had a Destiny and first-grade bones, Master Yuan would give you special lessons too."

"Some people are just born lucky. The Ning Family treats Senior Brother Xiao so well—it's almost too much. Not long ago, they sent in cartloads of precious materials and Treasure Fish..."

"Do you know how much Senior Brother Xiao gets from his nominal post at Ning Manor?"

"How much? Senior Brother Xiao hasn't even become a Martial Artist yet, and he already has a post?"

"Ha, how naive! It's called reserving him in advance."

"Let me tell you how much Ning Manor paid to get Senior Brother Xiao to take the post." The disciple held up four fingers with an exaggerated expression. "This much!"

"Forty taels?!" someone in the crowd exclaimed, clicking his tongue in amazement. "I'm about to break through to the middle stage of the Post-Heaven Realm, and my stipend is only thirty taels..."

The disciple shook his head, then coolly replied, "Four hundred taels..."

"Hiss!"

Everyone around him sucked in a sharp breath.

"Four hundred taels! Even if they asked Senior Brother to take the post, it wouldn't cost that much!"

"Of course the post itself wouldn't cost that much. But if it's a betrothal gift, that's just a drop in the ocean..." the disciple said knowingly. "I hear Ning Manor plans to marry their daughter to Senior Brother Xiao..."

The envy in everyone's eyes deepened.

"Tsk, having a Destiny is great. The moment it awakens, a renowned master comes knocking, money comes knocking, and even a beautiful wife comes knocking. What a lucky life..."

Everyone sighed with admiration.

Lin Yi didn't feel much as he listened.

Now that Lin Yi had become a Martial Artist, he was training in the inner courtyard.

He had begun seeing Xiao Dong more often.

At first, the two would nod to each other when they met. But later, Xiao Dong seemed to find Lin Yi increasingly uncomfortable to be around, so he began deliberately avoiding him. Even when they crossed paths, he pretended not to see him.

However, Xiao Dong's Destiny, [Blood Sable Drinking Poison], gave him an exceptionally powerful boost to his cultivation speed.

Only two months had passed since his Destiny awakened.

Xiao Dong had already begun preparing to break through and become a Martial Artist.

Lin Yi couldn't help but marvel at that.

But Xiao Dong seemed to have devoured too much blood-meat lately. The murderous air on his face had grown ever more pronounced.

At the martial arts school, the disciples both respected and feared Xiao Dong.

"That Xiao Dong looks so fierce, and somehow familiar."

Lu Chengyi's voice came from beside him.

"He has a Destiny. In all of Jiaqing County, his talent probably isn't inferior to Liu Qingnu's. I imagine you saw information about him at Master Wu's place," Lin Yi replied telepathically.

"I think I remember something like that... but something still feels off."

"What feels off?"

"I don't know. I'll tell you when I remember."

Lu Chengyi gave an equivocal answer.

A helpless look flashed across Lin Yi's face.

Lu Chengyi had lost a large part of his memory and only remembered the past year. The information he gave Lin Yi was just as vague.

"Hey, Lin Yi, want to grab a drink at Pine Crane Restaurant? Xu Fu's treating us today." A burly, bold-looking man called out to Lin Yi.

"Sorry, I can't today. I have to report for my post this afternoon. I'll treat everyone next time," Lin Yi replied with a smile.

Lin Yi got along fairly well with the people in the inner courtyard.

There were only twenty-three of them in all.

Most were in their twenties.

Lin Yi was sixteen, the youngest of the lot. But he carried himself with an air of distinction, trained diligently, spoke and acted with care, and knew his place. He was also on good terms with Liu Lie.

The others had a favorable impression of Lin Yi. They treated him like a younger brother and naturally looked out for him a little more.

"You got a post too?" Everyone was curious. They crowded around and questioned Lin Yi.

"Yeah. I'm an assistant instructor with the Peace Guard," Lin Yi said without hiding it.

"The Peace Guard!" Everyone exclaimed. "That place may be official, but it's no good place to work!"

They all urged Lin Yi not to be so foolish.

He was still young. He shouldn't take the wrong path.

As they advised Lin Yi, they kept glancing around to see whether the senior brother was nearby.

"..." Lin Yi didn't know what to do.

It took him a great deal of effort to finally escape the crowd.

"Phew... I'm exhausted. That was harder than training..." Lin Yi complained helplessly.

"You seemed to be enjoying yourself," Lu Chengyi said out of the blue.

Lin Yi smiled and said nothing more.

He headed toward the courtyard.

After becoming a Martial Artist, Lin Yi's living arrangements had also been greatly upgraded.

He had gone from a crowded room with four shared beds to a small courtyard with two houses and a room of his own.

And, at Liu Lie's invitation, he now shared a courtyard with him.

Lin Yi had just pushed open the courtyard gate when he stopped short.

"Hey, I've been waiting for you forever." Liu Lie smiled and raised a hand when he saw Lin Yi. "Your friend's been waiting here for ages."

Besides Liu Lie, another figure stood in the courtyard, facing away from him.

The figure looked familiar, but the dense golden Aura of Fortune surrounding him told Lin Yi who he was.

"Could it be young Jiang Er?"

Jiang Er hadn't even turned around before Lin Yi called out his name.

Jiang Er shuddered, seemingly surprised that Lin Yi still remembered him. Gratitude welled up inside him, and he hurried to his feet.

His lips moved as he called out, "M-Master Lin."

Liu Lie glanced between the two of them, then said, "Junior brother, you two talk. I'll go pay my respects to Master."

Lin Yi nodded and led Jiang Er over to sit down.

Jiang Er lowered his eyes. His skin was dark, and he looked gaunt and ill at ease.

Lin Yi couldn't help teasing him. "What, it's only been two months and you're already acting like a stranger? You're not calling me Brother Lin anymore?"

Jiang Er smiled, and some of his awkwardness faded. "Brother Lin."

Lin Yi smiled. "How is your father's illness?"

Jiang Er replied gratefully, "Thanks to the money you gave me that day, Brother Lin, my father's mostly recovered."

Then Jiang Er hurriedly picked up the clay jar at his feet and set it on the table, gently opening it.

Inside, a nimble-looking Three-Tailed Black Snakehead, weighing about five pounds, swam around.

A simple smile appeared on Jiang Er's dark, reddish face.

"When I left that day, I said I owed Brother Lin a fish. I finally caught one yesterday, so I thought I'd bring it over as soon as I could."